Relieved Galway restaurants eager to sate Christmas appetites

Galway restaurateur Joe Bohan, who operates Dela on Dominick Street with his wife Margaret, said the bookings had been flowing in since the Government announcement and they were readying themselves to see out 2020 with an ‘extraordinarily busy’ four weeks.

However, he feared the worst for 2021 with another lockdown already mooted for January or February.

“As soon as the announcement was made, we had hundreds of bookings coming in on the online system. It’s looking like we’re going to be very busy for the next few weeks.

“We have spent a lot of money on screens and measures to have the restaurant safe and we’ll take whatever custom we can get because I’m sure we could be back here by January,” he said.

The Bohans, who grow a lot of their produce on their organic farm in Moycullen, have spent lockdown readying themselves for next year, estimating that they’re about two months ahead of themselves in preparation.

They had opened for takeaway as restrictions eased the first time around, before restaurants could reopen for sit-in customers, but that wasn’t an option in this lockdown.

“Certain businesses are more suited to takeaway. We were quite busy with it during the summer because people were coming into town and sitting out to eat it, making a day of it.

“We didn’t do it this time and that looks like it was the right call. Some businesses are just more geared towards takeaway. This time, we retreated to Moycullen and now we’re ahead of the game for next year,” said Mr Bohan.

Because of the increasing risk of the virus, Mr Bohan said they were satisfied that the closure had been necessary, and that Government supports had been adequate. He conceded that this was ‘very easy to say’ when your business was stable, but added that there were many more struggling.

“We’re happy to be back, because you’re always afraid that people will forget about you, but we’re looking forward to it and the staff are too.

“We always opened on Christmas Eve, but this year we’re not going to open for it or New Year’s Eve to give staff time to travel home.”

Photo: Joe and Margaret Bohan.